HOT TOPICS

APPROPRIATIONS

On June 7, the House Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over several library programs, recommended funding levels for FY2008.
The Subcommittee’s recommendation included $215 million for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), down from the President’s request of $226.18 million. The recommendation also included $167.5 million for the LSTA state grant program, $4 million under the $171.5 million the President requested. The full $171.5 million is needed for full implementation of a 2003 law to provide a more equitable distribution of state formula grants.

The Subcommittee also provided $2 million to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) for research and statistics. IMLS requested $3.5 million -- $1 million to cover the responsibilities of the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS), which was eliminated in the President’s budget request and the Subcommittee’s and the Subcommittee’s mark up, and $2.5 million to fill the responsibilities IMLS is receiving from the Department of Education’s National Center for Educational Statistics. IMLS will not be able to fill all of the research and statistics responsibilities without the full $3.5 million.
For the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries program, the Subcommittee recommended level funding at $19,486,000.

No Child Left Behind

With No Child Left Behind (NCLB) reauthorization underway, the Washington Office (WO) is working to include school librarians in two ways: (1) in an amendment calling for a school library, headed by a state-certified school library media specialist, in every school as part of the “highly qualified” section of NCLB, and (2) strengthening the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries program.

The OPEN Government Act

The OPEN Government Act (S.849) would strengthen the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) promoting government openness and accountability; however, Senate leaders have not been able to come to agreement on time and amendments in order the schedule the bill. The bill had previously been put on hold (secretly for sometime) by Senator Kyl (R-AZ) due to Department of Justice concerns that sensitive information would be released; however, the original FOIA of 1966 already has rigorous exceptions (some argue too many) to protect national security. S849 has bipartisan support in the Senate, and the House passed a companion bill, the FOIA Amendments of 2007 (H.R. 1309) in March, by a substantial margin of 308 to 117.

Need more information?
The Washington Office Update Session will be held Saturday, June 23, 8:00-10:30am, in the Washington Convention Center, Room 143B. Among those featured will be Royce Lamberth, former Chief Judge on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Court, who will be speaking about how the highly secretive court works, and how it has changed since the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001.

Theresa Chmara, Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) Counsel, Jenner & Block, will provide an update on the status of litigation and non-litigation projects recently undertaken or monitored by the FTRF and provide practical information on how these court cases affect the daily operations of libraries on Sunday, June 24, 1:30-3:30pm, Renaissance Mayflower Hotel, Chinese Room.

Digital Television (DTV) Transition

Have you heard? After February 17, 2009, your analog TV will no longer be able to receive a signal without a converter box, thanks to the digital television transition. ALA is actively involved with a coalition that is working to educate the public on the upcoming signal switch. This coalition is also publicizing the fact that analog TV owners can receive a coupon (after January 2008) from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) that provides a discount on the converter. There will be much more information to come on this issue, including a major publicity push beginning with Midwinter 2008.

National Library Service for the Blind & Physically Handicapped

The NLS, a division of the Library of Congress, is in the process of switching the talking books format and associated playback equipment from 4-track cassette tapes (introduced in 1970, superseding vinyl records) to digital (USB) flash memory cartridges. NLS estimates the cost of transition is $76.4 million over a 4-year period ($19.1 million in each of the next four years). The House Committee on Appropriations has only recommended $7.5 million for the upcoming fiscal year. The Appropriations Committee met and amended the subcommittee bill to give NLS $12.5 million of the $19.1 million requested for the new technology for Talking Books. The full House is expected to pass the bill very soon.

E-Government

OITP has been working with the Information Institute at Florida State University for the past several years on public library connectivity research. Among other things, they discovered that some public libraries have become de facto providers of e-government services in their communities. As federal agencies have shifted resources to the Web and streamlined work processes, reference services have increasingly been pushed to public libraries. Some federal agencies actually say “Go to your public library for more information.”

OITP sponsored a meeting, including the chair of GODORT and public librarians, with the Information Institute in December 2006 to explore the topic further. It seemed clear to the group meeting that public librarians are the right choice for the provision of these e-government services – but this work cannot go on without additional funding and recognition.

The Information Institute has submitted a grant proposal to IMLS to conduct additional research. On the legislative front, this is on the ALA Committee on Legislation agenda. On the policy front, the ALA Office for Information Technology Policy has been working with federal policy organizations to remind them that public libraries are the key to successful, user-centered e-government service provision. W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) is meeting this week (“Toward More Transparent Government: E-government and the Web”) and the Washington Office is participating. Those interested in this issue may also want to read the position paper on the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) website: http://www.itif.org/files/turbogov.pdf

Washington Office staff are working with various ALA member groups, including PLA and GODORT. At Annual, the Committee on Legislation Government Information Subcommittee will meet with GODORT and PLA to discuss their role in the evolution of e-government service provision in public libraries.

Public Access to Federally-Funded Research

The federal government spends over fifty billion dollars annually to fund a wide variety of research in health, scientific and other fields. The present system of disseminating the results of publicly funded research is badly broken and severely limits access. The public pays for the research and often the salary of the researcher as well.

Research articles are then published in peer-reviewed journals, which charge subscription fees or per-article access fees. Giving enhanced access to non-classified publicly-funded research will advance research and all the benefits of research, from health care and pollution control to energy independence and public safety. Wide, rapid, and easy access to the results of this research is essential for everyone who wishes to apply or build upon it – from researchers and students to health clinic workers and parents of children with genetic diseases. Public access to federally funded research is a key priority on ACRL’s legislative agenda, and this year ALA and ACRL support changes in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Public Access Policy from voluntary to mandatory as part of the NIH appropriations process in the U.S. House of Representatives. A mandatory NIH policy would require the deposit of final peer reviewed manuscripts in PubMed Central within 12 months of publication in a peer-reviewed journal (over 60,000 articles annually), respecting the role of publishers and the peer review process.

E-Rate

The Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) will report on the results of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundatin-funded project “Improving Library E-Rate Participation” at the E-Rate Task Force Forum, Saturday, June 23, 2:00-4:00pm, Renaissance BR West A/B. In addition to the project update, this program will focus on two key issues: (1) a discussion of recent research on application denials and reductions hosted by E-rate expert Linda Schatz, and (2) a conversation about recent issues regarding technology planning, featuring John Noran from the Schools and Libraries division of USAC.

Employee Free Choice Act

At the 2006 Annual Conference, the ALA-APA Council adopted a resolution (APACD #8.2R) On Support for Freedom to Form Unions: The Employee Free Choice Act. The Act is currently under consideration by the U.S. Senate, with a vote scheduled possibly as early as June 20. For more information and an opportunity to discuss the issue: ALA-APA Open Mike on Salaries in Libraries: Your Opinion Counts, Renaissance Mayflower, Room 14, Friday, June 22, 4:00-5:00pm.

English-Only Initiatives

The effect of English-only initiatives, policies and management practices on library services to children and young adults will be discussed by Congressman Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) and Judith Krug in a program sponsored by REFORMA, Sunday, June 24, 1:30-3:30pm, WCC 208A/B.

The Preservation and Reformatting Section (PARS) of ALCTS presents its forum on disaster recovery on Saturday, June 23, beginning at 4:00pm, WCC Room 142.

Copyright

The 2nd annual Copyright 101: Everything You Wanted to Know About Copyright But Were Afraid to Ask will be Monday, June 25, 1:30-3:30pm, Marriott Metro Center, Salon C. The poster session format will enable attendees to drop by with specific questions – without having to stay for the entire session. Topics include interlibrary loan, public domain, developing copyright resources for faculty, e-reserves, Section 108, international copyright, exclusive rights and limitations to copyright, fair use and how to retain author’s rights.